Delivering Excellence
Founded in 2018 by German master tailor and textile engineer Brita Hirsch to address the shortage of acknowledged training provision, the Tailoring Academy remains the only UK training provider accredited to teach the Level 5 Diploma in Bespoke Tailoring, a regulated qualification. Developed by the UK Fashion and Textiles Association (UKFT) and the Savile Row Bespoke Association, it sits on the Regulated Qualifications Framework. The stand-alone course meets the requirements of the UK national apprenticeship standard.
This is the course if you aspire to be a fully qualified bespoke cutter and tailor, without the need to enrol in an apprenticeship. It is open to UK candidates with prior experience in garment making and delivers both optional pathways – bespoke cutting and tailoring – to all students. Graduates leave with a dual, globally acknowledged qualification.
Candidates aged 18 to 35 from certain countries can enrol onto the Level 5 under the Youth Mobility scheme.
Note the Academy is also the sole UK provider accredited to deliver tailoring training to overseas students*.
Through its International Program, candidates from around the world have a choice between two UKFT-approved courses, each under six months long. We issue students with the formal acceptance letter, with seal of approval from the British Accreditation Council (BAC), required to enter the UK on a Visitor Visa.
And, in a ‘significant boost for tailoring education across England’ (John West, head of Skills at the UK Fashion and Textiles Association), the Academy has recently partnered with the Textile Centre of Excellence (TCoE), to also provide 20% off-the-job training to apprentices based across England and Wales. The collaboration, which has received approval from Skills England and attracts up to £17k in government funding is now available to employers.
Please click this link or get in touch below for more information.
Facilities
Based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, the textile heartland of the UK, our workshop is located on the top of a heritage building, a former silk mill (click the link for a video). It was designed with real-world learning experience in mind. Our full-time programmes offer an alternative to the traditional apprenticeship. Learning alongside co-workers, meeting customers and getting involved in fittings and front-of house duties are all part of the experience.
Bathed in natural light and blessed with 360 degree views of the historic surrounds and foothills of the Peak
District, the studio is equipped with the latest technology, providing a modern, yet authentic learning experience. State-of-the-art industrial machinery, spacious workbenches, ironing stations and daylight LED lighting all ensure a healthy, efficiency-promoting work environment.
Each full-time student is equipped with their own set of tailoring tools as well as an iPad© and headset. Tutorials are streamed live in the workroom and delivered straight to students’ workbenches. This allows learners to stay in place rather than having to gather around a tutor. Every student has a first row, close-up view of the demonstration, the opportunity to take screenshots and the ability to write down notes for their records.
*IMPORTANT: be aware that, without accreditation, a training provider is not legally permitted to enrol international students. Always ask for accreditation if you don’t see it displayed on the provider’s website. Course participants are at risk of deportation if their training provider doesn’t comply with UK immigration rules.
